Podcast listening hits all-time high in US up 12% year on year according to The Infinite Dial 2024. The Infinite Dial is produced by Edison Research with support from Audacy, Cumulus Media, and SiriusXM Media and is America’s longest-running survey of digital media consumer behaviour in the US, published annually since 1998. It provides survey data on a number of important media channels, including streaming audio, podcasting, and social media from a representative sample of the US population aged 12 and over. The report was conducted in January 2024 using a national survey of 1,086 individuals.
The Infinite Dial 2024 key findings
Podcast listening reach is up overall
- 47% have listened to a podcast in the last month, up 12% year over year; 34% have listened to a podcast in the last week, up 10% year over year. Despite changes in how downloads are being delivered and counted, listening levels are up markedly.
Growth in podcast reach is driven by large increases among the number of female listeners
- 45% of women have listened to a podcast in the last month, up from 39% in 2023, an increase of 15%; 32% of women have listened to a podcast in the last week, up from 27% in 2023, an increase of 19%
- Weekly and monthly podcast listening among men are up 3% and 4%, respectively
- Increases in the number of monthly and weekly podcast listeners are seen across all age groups
Online audio listening hits the highest mark ever
- 76% have listened to online audio in the last month, an estimated 218 million people
- 90% of those age 12-34 and 85% of those age 35-54 have listened to online audio in the last month
Smart speaker ownership appears to have plateaued, but the number of smart speakers per owner continues to rise
- 34% of the population report owning a smart speaker, down from 36% in 2023
- Nearly half of smart speaker owners (43%) own three or more of the devices
Twitter/X usage sees a sharp decline after Elon Musk acquisition
- 19% of those age 12+ are currently ever using X (formerly known as Twitter), a 30% drop from the findings in the 2023 Infinite Dial study
Other findings include
- 70% of those age 18+ who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month currently ever listen to radio as an audio source in their primary car; 55% listen to online audio and 32% listen to podcasts
- 60% of those age 12+ have a traditional AM/FM radio set in their home
- 32% of those age 18+ who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month have either an Android Auto or Apple CarPlay system in the vehicle
- 72% of those age 12+ own a smart TV
The full report is available to download here.
